‘Right . . . Well, I’m sure that will be a great experience for him. How old is he?’
‘Eighteen. First time he’s been properly away from home, so I’m a bit on edge.’
‘I see . . . what is he doing there?’
‘Camp America.’
Olivia flicked her hand dismissively. ‘He’ll be absolutely fine, you know. That’s when I left home and—’ She stopped talking when she realised Kitty had fixed her with a steely glare.
‘He’s still my little boy.’
Uh-oh, thought Olivia, one of those protective types, especially when it came to her beloved son. She had come across mums like Kitty before, and she knew she’d better watch herself and reign it in.
Kitty continued to chat politely to Olivia as they drank their tea and exchanged pleasantries. However, it was clear neither of them wanted to be there with the other. They were nevertheless going through the motions.
Olivia was relieved to be avoiding too many questions about her own background and why she had ended up on Arran. Mind you, she had become quite the expert over the past few weeks at dodging questions and deflecting the conversation away from herself. She wanted to keep it that way. She had managed to share very little with Margaret, Isobel and Bella, yet knew an amazing amount of detail about their lives. It was surprisingly easy to do — people tended to enjoy talking about themselvesif they were given the space to talk. It always amazed her how much personal information people would share about their lives, whether it was their health problems, marital woes, job irritations or money problems. Not Kitty though, interestingly. And she was becoming increasingly diffident and monosyllabic with her answers.
Kitty put her mug down on the table, suddenly stood up and announced she was going for a walk. ‘I need to clear my head and gather my thoughts,’ she said. ‘Thanks for the tea. Um, I won’t be too long. Will you be here?’
Olivia didn’t know what to say. ‘Sure. Why?’
‘So I can get back in.’
‘Of course. Though why not just take the key in the meantime? In case I go out.’
‘Can I leave my stuff here? Or would you rather I put it in the car?’
Olivia shook her head. ‘It’s fine. Just leave it there. Look, I know this isn’t ideal, but just put it in one of the bedrooms until we figure out what to do.’
Kitty threw her a grateful smile. ‘Thank you. I won’t be long.’
Olivia watched Kitty retrace her steps and move her bags into the bedroom at the front of the house. Then she closed the front door behind her.
‘I’ll get your mug then, shall I?’ she said out loud as she picked up Kitty’s cold tea and took it through to the kitchen. Boy, this was not what she had signed up for. Something would have to give.
Chapter Ten
The truth was Kitty didn’t want to be in this predicament at all. She wanted to be alone and have this time out from her usual everyday life. Tears of frustration pooled in her eyes as she walked past her parked car. She hesitated and wondered if she should just get in it and drive somewhere. She gave herself a shake. There was no point in doing that. It was better to just keep moving, so she followed the road down the hill. Reaching for a fresh tissue, she dabbed her face. Hopefully a walk would help her think and formulate a plan. Should she call Fergus and tell him what had happened? Though the last thing she wanted was to cause him hassle and stress, especially when he’d been trying to do her a favour by arranging this house-sit. He would be embarrassed and insist she go and stay in his flat, which may be okay for a couple of nights but wasn’t really ideal or the reason she’d come here.
As she walked towards the centre of the village she started to feel a bit calmer, especially when she saw the blue water in the bay stretching out ahead of her. The early afternoon sunshine felt pleasant on her face, and she began thinking about options and what her plan B might be. It wasn’t the end of the world. If the house was taken, then that was how it was, and at least the offer of the cottage had made her come out of her comfort zone and actually make the journey over to Arran. She could spend a couple of days with Fergus and hopefully meet his new girlfriend, Amelia. She’d have had a change of scene and then she could go home to Rosemarkie and enjoy the summer there. There was plenty to keep her busy.
As she passed the community centre, she smiled at the elderly gentleman who stood outside the door looking at the board, which had a poster advertising a new art class for beginners.
‘I’m just wondering whether this might be fun,’ he said as she passed.
‘I’m sure it will be,’ she said wistfully. She had always wanted to draw, and would definitely have signed up to it if she could. This was supposed to be about new adventures.
‘My girls are always telling me to try new things,’ he said, scratching his chin. ‘Maybe I’ll see you there?’
She smiled. ‘Perhaps you will. I’m Kitty.’
The man smiled at her. ‘Pleasure to meet you, Kitty. I’m Alex. Hope to see you at the class.’
Feeling more relaxed, she walked on and pulled out her phone to call Fergus.
‘Hey you,’ he said on answering. ‘I was just about to call you and find out if you’d found the cottage and settled in okay.’
‘Well . . . there has been a bit of an unexpected problem,’ she started.
